•As over 1,000 coalition, govt, square off
With renewed hostilities against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by many dissenting voices there are clear signs that this may lead to a clash with authorities as those opposed to these food additives are not willing to back down.
Specifically, stakeholders under the umbrella of GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance who are leading the vanguard of those opposing voices have urged the Federal Government to ban GMO-based products in Nigeria, saying they pose a risk to human health and the environment.
The alliance, a coalition of over 1,000 individuals and groups including farmers, civil society organisations, scientists, nutritionists, legal practitioners, and youth movements made the call during a sensitisation rally to reject GMOs and to educate citizens about their harmful nature.
The rally which was held in Ikeja on Friday, was a direct response to the potential adoption of GMOs by Nigerian authorities as a “silver bullet” solution to the nation’s agricultural challenges.
To address these concerns, the organisers said they have launched a nationwide campaign against GMOs led by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an initiative that is supported by a coalition of over 1,000 individuals and groups.
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The group represents millions of Nigerians deeply concerned about the far-reaching impacts of GMOs on the nation’s food systems and public health.
Protesting at the rally, the concerned citizens trooped out in their numbers and sensitised the public over the danger that GMOs pose.
The advocates declared that the consumption of GM products was akin to injecting poison, which they insist must end to pave the way for sanity.
The public protest about the availability of GMO foods in the country was also used to enlighten commuters and the general populace around Ikeja and its environs about the nature of GM products.
GM Foods are crops/animals or products of crops/animals whose genetic materials have been altered using gene engineering techniques.
Surveys conducted in 2018, 2019 and 2023 reveal the presence of several food products containing GM ingredients/produced with genetic engineering.
According to the group, genetically modified beans, cotton and maize have been approved for commercial release in Nigeria by the Nigerian government.
However, the coalition stated that GMOs are a bad idea because they contaminate our environment/destroy biodiversity; they are linked with serious health implications including cancers and immune disorders; disrupt the right of farmers to save/reuse seeds; and hand control of our seeds/food over to corporations.
On the way forward, many activists including Comrade Gideon Adeyeni, programme officer at the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Zikora Ibeh, policy and research lead at CAPPA, the Director of Programme at Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Mary George-Peluola, among others were in attendance, calling on President Tinubu-led government to prohibit use and consumption of GMO products in the country so as to protect the environment and the health of citizens.
Adeyeni, an activist in CAPPA, which is part of the free GMO Nigeria coalition, said, “GMOs also lead to what we call food colonisation, meaning that local farmers can no longer control our food system.